Virgin Media Phorm Webwise Adverts [Updated: See Post No. 1, 77, 102 & 797]

[Florence]

Originally Posted by bigsanta11

Right now ,i feel like my head is going to implode with anger;



Replies from some of the users that are ex telewest say they don't have the cookies,but those that are ex ntl do have the cookies.

How often do you clear out cookies?
Is there a date for this being placed on your pc?
Have you visited any of the webwise links in this thread including the one that opts you out of webwise?

[popper]

as a start i aways point them to this most Informed thread

but yes, we could do with a direct line to help inform them as a collective...

perhaps they could setup an open vBulletin were they can then interact, or perhaps better, a subsection of Cable Forum

seeing we are becoming the "industry standard" in all things helpful ,Open and Informing on these DPI Interception For Commercial Profit facts....and related matters.

[JohnnyWashngo]

Just a quick question to the people on the forum here who are doing most of the hard work

Has anybody written a letter, or even an article, for 2600 magazine in the states?

They are very privacy and security minded and their latest issue (spring 2008) has a fantastic editorial about how the US and the UK (with its surplus of CCTV cameras) are sleepwalking into an orwellian surveillance society where people are tracked and monitored through various means, 24 hours a day.

When reading the magazine last week, it struck me how these ideas, which 20 years ago were unthinkable, are now pretty much a reality. They make a point in that by introducing these methods under the banner of protection (be it from nasty people phishing for your data, like Phorm, or from other boogeymen, like terrorists) they soften the blow for when they start to actually use these methods for monitoring civilians. It is very much the thin end of the wedge and this whole campaign against Phorm and its adoption by the big three in the UK will be right up there street.

If nobody has written to them about this, I would suggest doing so. The only downside is that your need to be a subscriber to do so and my subscription lapsed last year

[popper]

OT but related,Virgin Media are in the news again and Phorm/NebuAd are also mentioned.

its interesting that the BPI boss Geoff Taylor can get his own BBC column when theres no law to say the ISPs need do what they chose to do.

but we End Users cant get the same chance of a column On the BBC to give our (directly Effected Payed For in full, and in advance of use) ,front line Directly Effected View of this ISP/Phorm Intercepted For Commercial Profit scam.

its in effect Wrong for SOME small (3-5%?)% of End users to use P2p torrents for their non commercial potential Piracy needs(cant use Iplayer/use DRM on their machine etc), BUT its perfectly fine for ISPs like Virgin Media and BT to officially sign "Memorandum's Of Intent" /Contracts with Phorm to Commercially Pirate 100% ,each and every End Users Unique datastreams copyright, and each and every visited website Owners Copyrighted Content for Commercial Gain.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post...music-biz.html
"
Cash, not idealism, behind ISP embrace of music biz

By Nate Anderson | Published: June 16, 2008 - 08:10AM CT

Virgin Media, one of the UK's largest ISPs, has agreed to forward British music industry nastygrams to subscribers suspected of illegal file-swapping.

The move has proved hugely controversial already, generating charges of "spying on users" and even a BBC column on how Virgin could just go stuff itself into a trash can.

But left undiscussed is the core question of why Virgin is whoring itself out like this; the law doesn't require it, and passing on letters from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) won't make an ISP more dosh. Or will it?

BPI boss Geoff Taylor got his own BBC column last Friday to respond to all the criticism of the deal, and in it he gave a hint about what exactly is going on.

[Dephormation]

Originally Posted by bigsanta11

Right now ,i feel like my head is going to implode with anger;



Replies from some of the users that are ex telewest say they don't have the cookies,but those that are ex ntl do have the cookies.

There are lots of reasons to hate Virgin over Phorm, but those cookies are not (yet) reason enough.

They're created by Dephormation to indicate to Phorm a wish to opt out. If you see a UID corrupted with a message like "RespectMyPrivacy" you can be sure its not Phorm.

Whether Phorm take any notice is a different question, and whether the Information Commissioner Richard Thomas would assist if you subsequently found you were being profiled is sadly a foregone conclusion.

So, don't panic. But don't rely on Dephormation either. If Virgin roll out Phorm, its time to move to an ISP who respects the basic need for security, privacy and integrity of your communications.

Pete.

---------- Post added at 09:06 ---------- Previous post was at 09:03 ----------

Originally Posted by JohnnyWashngo

Just a quick question to the people on the forum here who are doing most of the hard work

Has anybody written a letter, or even an article, for 2600 magazine in the states?

Why not give it a go yourself...? Its vital that everyone gets stuck in to this. If you need help with an article you'll get it.

Pete.

[popper]

pete should'nt you also have a "RespectMyCopyright" and "PayMeMyCopyrightFees"

---------- Post added at 10:35 ---------- Previous post was at 09:30 ----------

Originally Posted by Dephormation

Only one other to add to Hanks check list (you beat me to it). This one is particularly urgent given the EC meeting in London on Friday at which I believe she will attend;

Attending the EC Meeting in London; Meglena Kuneva EU Commisioner (FAX: +32 229 95372)

Who said;
"I want to make sure that people everywhere can enjoy the same high levels of protection, through proper law enforcement. I want consumer organisations in the Member States to have adequate resources, and I intend to tackle those people wishing to cheat and defraud consumers, through good cooperation between national authorities."

A link for
Viviane Reding (FAX: +32 2 299.92.01)

For letters to Earl of Northesk, Lord Spithead, and Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer... Address of the House of Lords;

The House of Lords,
Westminster,
London,
SW1A 0PW

just a bump to remind people.

[rryles]

I'M STILL HERE

I may not be contributing at the moment. However, I am following all developments closely and when I feel I can help I will.

Remember - it's the quiet ones you need to watch!

[popper]

and dont forget ,you (the quiet ones )can also send your messages via the central House of Lords fax machine to the Peers that bothered to attend and speak on the "Data Protection" Lords Debate last thursday

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/...8-06-12a.724.5

read the transcript, make your comment there in the thread so we can all see it, and make your points both there and on Fax paper directly.

for a Fax directly to the House, simply right click open, the peers name in the transcript , click "send a message to" and fill in your details and comments to have it sent to the entral House of Lords fax machine....

simple and direct, but try and keep it concise as we dont want to iritate, but rather inform them and show the feelings, perhaps influence amendments in our favour etc.

"5. As we assumed/understood, BT will launch first, with a press release
accompanying the first 'interstitial notice' - i.e. the screen that pops up
telling you that the system is on, and giving the option to opt out. Full
roll-out across its customer base will be in a matter of days or weeks, but
not longer. Virgin Media and TalkTalk are in full pre-launch preparation
mode."

[icsys]

I would suggest that the posting on iii is made out of pure arrogance.

'pops up telling you that the system is on, and giving the option to opt out' ... Bring it on.

'Virgin Media and TalkTalk are in full pre-launch preparation mode' ... we shall see!

[popper]

Originally Posted by Dephormation

Does anyone know where I can find more information about the EC hearing in London on Friday?

It seems blummin strange to have a hearing, but not publish the location, and not invite key opinion sources like FIPR for example (who are apparently unaware and uninvited).

I wonder if Privacy International or 80/20 are attending. Wonder which hat they will wear. Bowler hat. Top Hat. Clown hat. If you want to get ahead, get a hat.

"Those are my principles. If you don't like them I have others."
Groucho Marx

Pete.

did you find out that info Pete?,
did the FIPR say they didnt know about it, and are still uninvited?.....

i cant see anything about it on the FIPR site,
or the http://www.openrightsgroup.org/ for that matter.


perhaps some of the Lords were asked to attend this meeting.

---------- Post added at 12:20 ---------- Previous post was at 12:04 ----------

Hehe, its amazing what compulsive Gamblers and their bookies will say to try and get the money flowing again.

http://www.iii.co.uk/investment/deta...ail&id=4073466
steadyasshegoes said:
"1. "Absolutely on track" at Phorm's end - reflecting the public 'heat', and understandably, ISPs are taking additional time to make sure they don't screw up - re: security and legality issues.

2. BT expected to launch "probably" within a week... or a few days thereafter.

3. Feeling pretty good on the recent PR trends in favour of Phorm - a positive editorial in last week's Economist, and earlier in the FT, plus a supportive speech in the House of Lords, plus recent supportive conversations with the Information Commissioner. And, a reduction in frequency of anti-Phorm blogging activity.

4. Kent expects the vocal minority to continue to become less and less vocal, and even more so once full service is launched.

5. As we assumed/understood, BT will launch first, with a press release accompanying the first 'interstitial notice' - i.e. the screen that pops up telling you that the system is on, and giving the option to opt out. Full roll-out across its customer base will be in a matter of days or weeks, but not longer. Virgin Media and TalkTalk are in full pre-launch preparation mode.

6. Once BT has launched, other announcements for other countries are expected. Country CEOs being recruited.

7. Publishers still totally on board - including the Guardian (whose journalist has been particularly vocal).

Conclusion: At last, positive newsflow does seem to be in the pipeline. We reiterate our Buy recommedation."

[rryles]

Found an article I thought might be useful:

http://nakedlaw.typepad.com/naked_la...bad-phorm.html

Doesn't say anything we haven't seen before but it is written by a qualified technology lawyer!

[popper]

nice find there Rryles, a qualified technology lawyer is aways good to have onboard.

as is a QC and a few Lords MPs,MEPs etc

do we have any QC "with a view" of all this reading the thread...

please feel free to register if your one of the many guests reading, and make yourself known, your "general View" on these matters would be most welcome here in public.

[icsys]

One also wonders why websites would want to sign up for the software which is quite likely to more accurately push their competitors’ sites in front of their customers? For example, if I mainly look at the BBC news website, wouldn’t Phorm “understand” this and so push adverts for other news and current affairs sites at me, to the BBC’s detriment?

I suppose until the next trial starts, how it works and who will participate is all speculation?


After extensive searching I too am unable to find any details of the EU online privacy hearing other than the news article already previously linked to..
http://publications.mediapost.com/in...&art_aid=84603

I imagine that it is a 'closed hearing' as details of the venue are not being disclosed.
As seems to be the norm... it is a US media site that leaks the 'limited' information.

[Wildie]

miss the quote